I’m guessing that Qobuz Connect sound noticeably better than Roon

Roon Software Discussion
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I didn’t intend that this be posted until I had an opportunity to add more comment to this paragraph I came across on a PS AUDIO Newsletter, Specifically I was wondering if this was an indirect criticism of Roon’s sound quality. I have not personally listened to Qobuz Connect as I am not a subscriber so I would be interested to hear whether anyone has compared music on Qobuz Connect vs Roon.

On the topic of electrifying experiences: Qobuz has finally done it. The much-anticipated Qobuz Connect is here, and it’s a game changer.

Until now, listeners using our AirLens streamer had to rely on Roon or the rather clunky MConnect app to access the sublime sound of Qobuz. Now, with Qobuz Connect, you can stream directly from the Qobuz app to the AirLens. It’s seamless, it’s intuitive, and most importantly—it sounds phenomenal.

Qobuz has always been the audiophile’s choice for streaming, with its native high-res files, tasteful curation, and dedication to quality. But the launch of Connect removes the last major friction point. No need to switch apps or go through technical gymnastics—just pick your track and press play. It’s the kind of update that makes you want to revisit your entire library just to hear how effortless it all sounds now.

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Is this a press release from PS Audio?

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Shouldn’t there be a discount coupon attached? :wink:

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Yeah, but does it integrate all your personal local stored music with Qobuz?

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The young lady must have shares :smiling_imp:

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Ah, thanks
Makes more sense with your edit :+1:

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I read it as the usual audiophile salesman hyperbole. Saying “and it sounds the same as before!!!” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

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@Echolane is definitely giving @jamie a run for his money for waxing lyrically.

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I’ve spent several hours comparing Roon vs Qobuz Connect on my Nucleus One and Lyngdorf TDAi 3400 since QC was added as a feature to the 3400 last Thursday. If there is a difference in sound quality, I can’t hear it.

Roon still has the best GUI by far compared to Qobuz and as I have a substantial local library stored on my Nucleus One, I’ll be sticking with Roon for now.

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This is great news as far as I am concerned.

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I compared the waveforms of Qobuz through the Naim app and Roon in this post:

They are identical (unless you are using DSP filters). The same is true of Qobuz Connect and Roon. There is no difference in sound quality whatsoever.

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In case there would be a difference beyond placebo Qobuz Connect implementation is very likely adding something to the digital signal which then would be no longer an unaltered streaming signal (1:1).
Whereas roon still uses 1:1 unchanged signal up to the output of the roon server’s device, unless you enabled some DSP in roon.

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“I’m guessing”…

Says it all

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For years PS Audio claimed that Roon sound quality was not as good as other sources into the network card in thier DrectStream. No idea why this should be but they believed it so much that they spent years trying to develop thier own alternative to Roon (Octave) that would run on their own hardware and sound better. Eventually they gave up as no doubt they could not build something as good as Roon. Not long after that they came out with thier Airlens that “solved” the sound quality problems with Roon.

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Sounds the same as using LMS to stream to my Eversolo DMP-A8 as it does via Qobuz connect so I imagine its the same with Roon, I always found Roon the same as everything else once level matched. However LMS and Roon would win out if like me you want to use Volune leveling as QC doesnt use it.

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FWIW I’m a bits are bits guy. Others have confirmed the Roon and QC are both bit perfect via a RME DAC.

Leaving UI’s out of the equation, both should not sound different from one another when sound level matched and without active DSP.

Roons signal path is great for telling us what’s going on. But it’s flawed. My WiiM Pro Plus’s Roon Ready implementation is limited in what the signal paths tells me. If I enable the WiiM’s room correction settings, this isn’t reflected via Roon’s signal path.

Why mention this, well I do hear a slight difference in micro dynamics on my mediocre setup. It’s not terribly noticeable.

I can play back to my WiiM device with both Roon and QC with very little delay between playback when switching. I know with Roon I had to click up once on my amps volume to close the difference in dB to within 0.2dB.

I’ve had my eldest daughter sit in my listening position and randomly played from one another in a complete blind test to her. Her preference on average was QC.

She has no bias to either option here, just her views and she commented “It sounded like it had a little more sparkle and was more harmonic” and “The snare sounds more in your face and the kick drum had slightly cleaner thud”.

I asked her what she thought of Roon (she doesn’t know what Roon is) and she commented “It sounded slightly softer and mellow”.

She loves music and seems to have a good ear for differences. Her music teacher at school says although she cannot sing, she is very good instrumentally and puts good harmonies together.

Once she knew I was testing between two playback methods I asked her if she could identify which was being used. Out of all the times we did this, except on two occasions, she identified correctly which was Roon and QC.

I then setup Audirvana, LMS and QC. She could not tell a difference between these. I run DietPi and Roon, Audirvana and LMS were installed on it. The same WiiM was used for all.

The thing here like with all other threads about which sounds best, it isn’t a case of ‘best’. It’s preference to me.

I prefer the sound of QC over that of Roon.

However, I listen mainly to local files so any comparison here can have flaws.

It’s a case of listen to whatever and however you like and prefer. No option is wrong.

One thing I’d be interested for someone to investigate is if the implementation of Roon Readiness can/does have a potential effect. I care not to do any further testing via other Roon Ready endpoints.

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That’s all by itself a perfect reason to safely ignore anything that is being said there, really.

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I did some fast AB testing on my hifi rose 130 between Qobuz direct and playing Roon. Almost no difference and for sure not one better than the other

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I totally don’t agree!!!

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I have always felt that Roon put a veil over the music which sucked the life out of the sound and robbed you of a lot of headroom.Of course I like to compare playback music to the gold standard”live music”.